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We're Way Beyond Campaign Fatigue

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By MEGHAN DAUM

Special to The Los Angeles Times

Published: September 18, 2008

Are you experiencing disturbing, election-related thoughts? When you close your eyes at night, do the colors of CNN's "magic" electoral map dance in your head like red and blue sugarplums? When you get in your car and hear the same talk-radio personalities saying the same things they said the last time you got in the car, do you wonder what day it is?

Me too, and I don't think we're alone. In the past few weeks, I've noticed a malaise of unprecedented proportions descending on the American public. As much as we want to think and talk about subjects other than the election, we can't. As much as we know we should watch that Netflix movie we've had for months, instead of staring at cable TV, we don't do it. And even though we might hate ourselves in the morning, we can't resist the quick fix of a screaming Huffington Post headline or a Bill O'Reilly conniption fit.

You think I'm talking about campaign fatigue? Sadly, we're way beyond that. Campaign fatigue, with its implication that people have had their fill of election chatter and are turning their attention to more personally enriching matters, is so ... I don't know, 2004. Campaign fatigue was what people felt when John Kerry wouldn't shut up about "the mountains of Tora Bora." Campaign fatigue is what happened when "Swift boat" was no longer a Navy vessel but also a verb of mass destruction.

Not so this election, which has been so all-consuming, especially of late, that mere fatigue (which, according to my calculations, started appearing around the time Stevie Wonder performed "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" at Invesco Field) got quickly usurped by a more powerful blight: obsession.

With the introduction of Sarah Palin into the mix, cocktail parties didn't so much buzz as throb. Rumors ricocheted around the Internet at warp speed. TV pundits were so busy that they could barely get to the bathroom. Amid the glee and the rancor, there was something exhilarating about the sound of so many people talking about just one thing.

Now the winds are shifting again. Obsession is escalating into addiction. A few weeks ago, half of my conversations were about the election. Last week, it was closer to 90 percent. I don't think anyone involved in these conversations actually wanted to be having them. But we couldn't help ourselves. That's why I'm going to kick the habit tomorrow. Or maybe next week.

Meghan Daum is Los Angeles-based writer.

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